


Melange

by Saringold



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Cats!, F/M, Fantasy and Sci-Fi references, Rating will change eventually, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Slow Burn, dogs!, reader identifies as female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2018-12-19 23:44:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11908716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saringold/pseuds/Saringold
Summary: You have a nice, if not somewhat mundane, life. You have a dog and a cat who adore you as much as you adore them, you have a nice, comfy retail job that pays the bills while you're doing freelance writing for magazines, and you really can't complain much about your time in the monster-filled Ebott City. However, when a bold skeleton in blue walks right into your life and decides to stay, you find that your own little world is about to get so much wider.





	1. How Sweet of You!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I've decided to post this fic while I work on I Would Do Anything For Love... I personally love me a good "X Reader" story, but there haven't been many (if any) featuring Reader/Underswap Sans, so I've decided to change that! I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to visit my [tumblr!](https://saringold.tumblr.com/)

“Ok, Fafhrd, gotta go,” you said affectionately, patting your sweetie pie's head as you began walking out the front door of your apartment. Your Golden Retriever yipped sadly before laying down on his paws, right in the middle of the entryway, and regarding you with a forlorn stare. “Bye, Mousie!” you called, but got nothing in response. You shrugged; the Gray Mouser, Fafhrd’s partner in crime, was nowhere to be seen, but he was probably taking a catnap (hehehe) on a windowsill somewhere.

You shook your head, a small smile tugging at your lips as you pulled the door shut behind you. Smoothing out your uniform, you hustled down the steps and out to your car. Hotrod was an old red Toyota Corolla that had a sticker of Totoro on the bumper, right next to your license plate, and had been with you for a few years now. You turned over the ignition and drove away, heading towards the heart of Ebott City. 

After a few minutes on the road, you pulled somewhat awkwardly into a parking space behind a street-facing store in the city’s commercial district. Leaving Hotrod to her own devices, you took out your keys and let yourself into the shop via the back door. With a yawn, you checked your watch; it was about 7:30, and that gave you enough time to get everything ready before the store opened at 9:00. 

First and foremost, you needed to make sure that the lights were on. You headed over to the light switches, allowing the recessed lighting to flood the store with artificial golden light. Once you did that, you headed over to the breaker, flipping on the switch for the sign out front. After a moment, the neon pink lettering of “Sweet Dreams Candy Shop” flickered to life, gently illuminating the red brick alongside the emerging sun. You swept up, took inventory, and checked yesterday’s mail before polishing the glass and refilling empty jars. On the large blackboard behind the register, you checked to make sure that everything was in order before dealing with the till. Finally, you checked the small desk calendar you kept in the back. “Your horoscope for August 4th…” you mused, scanning the tiny paper before you. “Watch out, woman! You’re in for a wild ride! Today’s gonna be crazy, but one chance encounter might make it all ok. Don’t forget to just be you, and keep true to your cool, calm, and collected self,” you read, smirking. It sounded like a load of nonsense, but then again, these silly things were just for fun anyway. Setting the calendar back down on the desk, you washed your hands and put on your gloves, all ready to open shop. Hopefully today went well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You looked over the register hesitantly, trying to get the attention of the next customer. He was too occupied with looking around, his gaze enraptured by the myriad of candies scattered throughout the store, and you could see that the other customers in line were starting to get a little antsy. “Sir!” you called out, slightly exasperated, and the man jumped in embarrassment before grinning sheepishly and heading over to you with his purchase. 

You rang him up and sent him on his way, looking over to the line and taking a breath to call for your next customer before realizing that they were already in front of you, regarding you patiently. “Oh, pardon me-” you began, before your breath caught in your throat, completely star-struck (hehe) as you regarded your latest customer. A small skeleton monster bedecked in blue was staring straight up at you, star shapes in his eyes (eyesockets?) and a grin stretching widely across his surprisingly expressive face.

“Greetings, human!” he said as he presented you with a bag full of candy. “How are you today?” You blinked in shock upon seeing a walking, talking skeleton appear before you, but with some effort, you managed to keep your surprised yelp to yourself and made sure to appear as neutral as possible. Just because you hadn’t seen very many monsters didn’t mean that you wanted to accidentally be rude to a customer.

If the monster before you noticed your surprise and hasty recovery, he didn’t mention it. He did, however, stare at you, smiling politely, until you dimly realized that he’d asked you a question.

“Oh, uh… I’m doing alright, thanks. How about you?” you asked, surprised that he’d even bothered with pleasantries. Most customers didn’t say anything at all, and if they did, they were usually complaints about their day or admonishments towards their children. 

“I’m doing quite well, human!” he exclaimed in response, his gentle baritone at odds with his seemingly carefree nature. “I’m very impressed by the quality selection of candies that you have here! However, while I am sure that they all taste magnificent, I am afraid that I can only purchase these for today!” He shook the bag, and you mentally slapped yourself once you realized that you had been so caught up in staring at him that you still hadn’t taken his bag of candy. No wonder the grumbles from the growing line were getting louder.

Getting yourself together, you grinned widely, taking his bag to be weighed. “Haha, that’s alright, sir! I love gummi worms too!”

You handed his purchase back to him, his smile widening as he took back the clear plastic bag from you. “That’ll be $5.37, please,” you asked, feeling your spirits lift just by being around the diminutive (and blessedly patient) monster.

He fished the money out of one of the pockets of his long gray pants, handing it to you proudly. “There you are! Thank you so much!”

He went to walk away, but you called after him. “Sir, wait! You forgot your change!”

He turned to smile at you, eyes wide and kind. “Keep it, human! It only makes _cents!_ ” He winked as he delivered the punchline, making you release a sharp, surprised gasp that left you smiling, speechless. He chuckled to himself before heading out of the store, leaving yourself to shake your head and grin even wider as the next customer crowded your field of vision.

“Hello ma’am, how can I help-” you began, only for her to cut you off.

“What’s wrong with you? Why would you serve a _monster?_ ” The way she said the last word was about the way one might describe a piece of gum or garbage stuck to the bottom of their shoe, and judging by her tone, she completely meant for it to be taken as such. 

You narrowed your eyes. “He was a paying customer, ma’am. Monsters have been with us for five years, and are legal citizens of society. There’s no reason not to serve him.”

The woman sniffed, looking down her nose at you. “I see,” she sneered, dropping her candy on the counter and walking off. “I’m not buying anything from someone who supports those _things._ ” With that, a few other customers followed suit, most of them giving you dirty looks as they left the goods on the counter. However, as you happily observed, a good majority of the customers had remained in line, many of them quite apologetic, and some of them even purchased the candy that the others had left behind. 

A few hours later, you were beaming in satisfaction. Other than that one rude woman and the people who’d followed her, you’d had a darn good day, and that little cutie in blue had definitely been the highlight of your day. You hoped to see him again soon; something about him just seemed calm, caring, and patient. You smiled as you closed up shop and turned out the lights, heading out to Hotrod so you could get home to your own cuties.


	2. Looking Asksansce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans tells Papyrus about his great day at work, and you decide to do some digging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what my problem is? I just want them to be together already so I can set them up with deep conversations. And yet... here we are!

Sans parked his bright blue Mini Cooper on the curb and hopped out, grabbing the candy from the front seat and inserting it into his inventory. Looking down the street, he could see several others returning home as well, a long day of work finally finished. This particular suburb of Ebott City was mostly inhabited by monsters, but there were a few humans here and there, including the young ambassador and some other key officials. 

Sans walked up the driveway to the two story house he shared with his brother, painted a tasteful periwinkle with white shutters. Everything about it was practically immaculate; the bushes were trimmed, the grass mown, and the windows polished, practically oozing charm from every angle. However, the only thing that didn’t fit in was the offendingly orange moped that stood out like a sore thumb in front of their garage, a testament to one of the few battles that even he just could not win.

Refusing to think about it further, Sans headed up the front walk and unlocked the front door. “I’m home!” Sans called, slamming the it shut behind him. As always, the metal door gave a great rattle as it collided with the doorframe, announcing the blue skeleton’s presence as loudly as a fanfare.

“Heyyyyyyyy, bro,” came a sleepy drawl from the top of the stairs. A tall skeleton in an orange hoodie and cargo shorts moseyed down the steps, taking his sweet time until he came to a stop just before his brother. Despite his bulk, he barely made a sound as he moved, his steps light and deliberate. An lollipop was clutched between his teeth, the white paper slowly being crushed between those massive white pillars. “What’s up?”

Sans smiled widely. “Mweh he he! You know what’s up, brother!” Jumping into his larger sibling’s arms, Sans gave him a huge hug, which the taller skeleton happily returned. “I had a great day at work, as usual! As a proud mascot of monsterkind, I was responsible for attending meetings and being cheerful!”

Sans’ expression drooped momentarily, but given that he was still wrapped around his brother’s torso, the larger one didn’t really notice.

“But… I just wish that I could do something more, Papy. I’m glad that I can help, but I feel like I could be doing something more meaningful-”

“Hold up, bro,” interrupted Papyrus, disentangling Sans from his ribcage and setting him down on the floor. “You know how important your job is, right? The King and Queen need you! We all need you!”

“Yes, but-” 

“You’re the coolest guy I know, bro, and I don’t think there could possibly be a better job for you than monster mascot.”

“But Papyrus, I-”

“Seriously, Sans, you’re amazing, and your cheerful and happy personality is just what everyone needs. You’re really helping a lot of people.”

Papyrus was so enraptured in his speech that he didn’t notice Sans’ hands clench into fists, and then relax. However, he did notice his brother’s downcast look, and paused to bend down on one knee to look him in the eyes. “Bro… you love that job. I know you do. Is something wrong? You know that you can always talk to me, right?”

Sans’ smile suddenly seemed strained, but the tension vanished just as soon as it had appeared, as if it had never been there at all. “No, nothing happened, Papy! I bet I’m just in a slump! I’m sure I’ll feel better soon.”

“Glad to hear it, little bro,” Papyrus responded, standing back up and stretching his spine. “Now, what’s for dinner? Selling corn dogs all day tuckered me out.”

Sans gaped at his brother, jaw slightly ajar. “E-excuse me? Papy, I am *older* than you-”

Papyrus waved his hand, cutting him off. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just taller, and people make that mistake all the time, so…”

Sans closed his eyes, willing himself to take a deep breath and not feel insulted by his dear brother’s offhand remarks. Obviously, he loved Papy dearly, but the fact that even his brother was echoing the same misconceptions as other monsters was absolutely infuriating, and was just another example of strangers acting like he was just out of stripes. However, he quickly acknowledged that this train of thought was counterproductive and would only annoy him, so he forced himself to take another breath and let the anger go. He could give himself space to acknowledge and validate it later, but now was hardly the time and he didn’t want to start a fight over something so trivial.

Instead, he forced his winning smile back onto his face, refocusing on the conversation at hand. “Even so, I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk down to me.”

Papyrus chuckled dismissively, patting his brother’s head. “Kinda hard not to, but sure thing, bro.”

Sans sighed. That was probably the best he was going to get, and he wasn’t really in the mood to continue this all-too common conversation. Making sure that his million-dollar smile was still on his face, he allowed his brother to head outside for a smoke, perfectly fine with clearing the air. He took off his boots and battle body, leaving the latter on the coffee table to clean. As he moved the magnificent armor, his perpetual smile wavered slightly. Did being a monster mascot really require him to wear it _all the time?_ He didn’t mind it when he was attempting to join the Royal Guard, but now it just felt unnecessary. The other Royal Guards had rather impressive armor that clearly fit them well and suited their size, but his… he’d originally made it to wear to a costume party, and he had to wonder if people even took him seriously in this getup.

He plopped down on the couch to begin cleaning his armor, when suddenly, he remembered: he had some candy that he could enjoy! And that human behind the register… she’d had a beautiful soul. Sans gently blushed a light baby blue, recalling the waves of acceptance and assistance rolling off of her as he’d approached her. Just thinking about her cheered him up, and his smile loosened, becoming a little more genuine. He opened up his inventory, retrieving the candy from his carefully organized storage. Popping a gummi worm into his mouth, Sans turned on the TV and got to cleaning and polishing his armor, enjoying the Napstaton Nightly News as he did so. He might have to go back to that candy store again, seeing as she was certainly the sweetest thing in there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You parked Hotrod just in front of your building, bounding up the steps to your second floor apartment. Slipping your key into the lock, you carefully opened the door, well aware of what was lying in wait. As soon as you stepped inside and closed it behind you, you were joyously greeted by Fafhrd, who threw his entire weight into your chest and almost succeeded in knocking you over with his overwhelming affection. “Down boy, down!” you laughed between slobbery kisses, crouching down to properly pet your silly boy. The daily shower of dog drool drenched your hair and covered your face, but you really couldn’t be annoyed with all the love you got from your big floofy softy; after all, this was far more affection than what any of your other family members gave you. As soon as you could gently push him away, you took off your shoes and walked over to the Gray Mouser, who was happily sunning himself in the windowsill. He meowed at your approach, purring in satisfaction as you gave him some well-deserved belly rubs. “Heya Mousie,” you said quietly. “How’s my good boy?” He didn’t respond, but you didn’t really expect him to; your tiny gray tomcat might have been surprisingly affectionate, but even he had his limits of interaction. 

After a moment of simply enjoying the quiet, you refilled your pets’ bowls and retrieved your laptop from the kitchen counter. It was covered in stickers, pictures of dice and dragons decorating the sleek black surface, and some of them were far more worn than others. You opened it up and got it started, fingers skimming over the keys as you booted up your internet browser. “Let’s see…” you hummed to yourself as you typed your query into the search bar. A quick internet search brought up pages and pages of links to articles, images, videos and more, and you brought your laptop over to the couch, curling up and getting comfy to read about the history of monsters leaving the mountain.

However, the very first picture you opened left you gasping. “It can’t be…” you whispered, seeing the same blue skeleton that had walked into your shop this afternoon prominently displayed in the photo. It seemed to be the President of all people shaking hands with the Queen of Monsters, the little monster ambassador and skeleton standing right in front. You shook your head. Poor little guy; he looked so uncomfortable. Maybe he hadn’t been used to humans when that picture was taken. That, or he needed to grow a backbone.

You chuckled and returned to your research, spurred on by finding your little friend (could you even call him that? You didn’t know anything about him…). You continued to comb through the photos and articles, trying to absorb as much as you could. Monsters had been released five years ago, led by Toriel, the queen of monsters, alongside the young monster ambassador, Chara. You recognized both of those names from snippets of news stories that you heard on the radio, but you’d never really paid too much attention to the news; you had plenty of personal struggles to deal with and hardly gave monster liberation much thought. Now, however, you wished that you’d listened a little closer; given that the apparently famous skeleton in blue had visited your shop, you wondered if there was any chance of the Queen or the ambassador stopping by. Geez, you’d probably have an aneurysm if either one of _them_ stepped inside. 

You continued your research for several more hours, learning more about the Queen, ambassador, Captain Alphys of the Royal Guard, and the Royal Scientist, Undyne. The skeleton, from what you could tell, was named Sans, and he seemed to be some kind of… mascot for monster-kind. Your eyes narrowed as you read that; he sounded like a glorified pet, the kind people paraded around in a circus. You had to wonder if he really liked that kind of job; while he had seemed so nice and cheerful when you’d met him, and he was smiling widely in all of his pictures, he just seemed so uncomfortable in most of the more formal settings. 

You shut your laptop, curiosity only heightened, and placed it back on the countertop. You looked over at your clock with a groan; you really should have been asleep hours ago, but you were too interested in this little skeleton for your own good. Oh well. 

You headed into your room, getting into your pajamas and brushing your teeth before burrowing under the plush covers. Another day down, another ahead. You fell asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow, dreams full of blue bones and starry, starry eyes.


	3. Lollipop-ping in to Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans feels better, feels worse, and feels better again. You decide to throw him a bone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to get a new chapter out, but I started a new job two months ago and getting used to it all has been crazy. While I can't promise a consistent upload schedule, I will do my best this year! I'd also like to thank everyone who left me kudos and comments. I got to a point where I kinda just... stopped writing, and reading your comments and how supportive you all have been has been what really pushed me to keep this going. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to poke me over on tumblr!

Sans’ alarm went off at 7:00 AM on the dot, the daily annoyance beeping loudly throughout the entire upstairs. The small skeleton promptly clocked it (he snickered at that one) over the display until it stopped its incessant noise, and after a few seconds he sat up and stretched out his spine. After a few satisfying pops, he swung himself out of bed (decorated tastefully with star-patterned sheets and pillows) to start his day.

Heading over to the closet, he opened it up to grab a plain white t-shirt and striped gym shorts that would be comfortable under his battle body. Briefly, he considered wearing socks, but after considering that there might be children around he decided against it. He certainly could not be anything close to inappropriately dressed on the job. Finally, he picked up the worn blue scarf from his desk, looking at it reverently. The lovingly worn piece of cloth held so many memories, almost too many to count, and if Sans closed his eyes and concentrated, he could almost smell not only his own scent, but the fresh snow and pine of Snowdin, the cinnamon doggies sold in the shop, and the slight smell of oil that lingered from creating immaculately crafted puzzles and japes. There were tiny tears in it from small bony hands gripping it tightly, and perhaps more than a few tearstains too. There was even a lingering trace of a smell from a long time ago, longer than he really cared to think about.

After a moment, he quietly tied it around his scapulae, and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put on his NTT Brand Moon Perfume. Once he was satisfied, he headed over to his brother’s room to wake him up. “Papy!” he called, knocking on the door. He listened for the usual groans or “Coming, bro”, but for some reason, it was silent. Boney brows furrowing, Sans carefully pushed the door open until it hit the wall with a thud. 

“Papyrus?” To his surprise, his brother wasn’t anywhere to be found. Sans felt an uneasy feeling stir in his soul; where was his brother? For him to be awake at this hour was quite unusual, and Sans couldn’t help but worry that something drastic had happened to force his brother out of bed so early. He raced downstairs, footsteps thudding on the wooden steps, before heading into the kitchen to retrieve his phone and call his brother.

However, just as he raced into the room, he smelled a heavenly aroma wafting from the table. Glancing to his left, he saw a beautiful butterscotch-cinnamon pie sitting on the table, quietly cooling. A folded note sat next to it, poking out from underneath the large porcelain plate that the pie rested on. Sans quickly unfolded the note, immediately recognizing his brother’s unmistakable scrawl. 

“Sans -” the note read, “Boss asked me to come in early to take over the morning corn dog shift. I didn’t wanna, doggone it, but I couldn’t say no to him. Unfortunately, he’s a bit cornery.

Also, the pie’s for you. Hope it helps. I know I’m not as good as you at making people feel better, but I ~~wanna help~~ ~~don’t know what else~~ want to make sure you’re ok. Have a good day; you’re the coolest, bro.

Love,  
Papyrus”

All of the worry that had gripped Sans’ soul in an icy vice immediately dissipated, leaving only embers of glowing warmth and affection in its wake. Sans smiled, relieved and touched. Papyrus really did care, and while perhaps that shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, he felt a lot better than he did last night. Sure, his brother could be grating and flippant at times and be unwilling to open up to anyone about what bothered him, but it warmed Sans’ soul to know that even if Papyrus had seemed to give up on everything else, he still cared enough about his big brother to wake up early and bake him a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. Sans cut himself a slice, sitting at the table and setting out some silverware. He took a big bite, the pie finally cool enough to eat. 

The taste was indescribable. 

~~~~~

You awoke with a start, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Glancing over to your alarm clock, you saw that it read 7:00 AM. Oh… Oh no! You were running late! At that realization, you scrambled out of bed, tripping over your sleeping pets and heading for the closet. Ah, shit. What were you going to wear? 

The answer came to you immediately after as you pulled out a pair of comfortable dark blue jeans and a royal blue t-shirt. Your favorite color had always been blue; for some reason, it felt like that was the color that had most suited you from the beginning. You grabbed a pair of cute socks (also blue) and pulled your black ankle-high boots on over those. With a satisfied grin, you filled your buddies’ bowls (they hadn’t moved once since you’d woken up) and headed out to the store, ready to start the day. 

A few hours later, you wondered when your day would finally end. It was just past noon, and already you’d had two spills to clean up, a kid who stuck his unwashed, grimy hands into the gumdrops, and a little girl who had a meltdown when her brother told her that gummi bears were made from real bear. All in all, it had been a tiring morning, and after ringing up the last customer currently in the store, you were ready for--

“Hello, human! I have returned!” 

Before you, the small blue skeleton from before was holding open the front door, posing grandly. At the sound of that voice, you immediately felt more energized, and although a prickle of nervousness about who he really was soared through you, you couldn’t help a big smile from appearing on your face. He laughed, his gentle baritone booming throughout the shop. 

“My my! Did something good happen, or are you just taffy to see me?” he asked with a wink, grabbing several lollipops from the shelves, and you burst into giggles. 

“My day is certainly better now that you’re here, Mister…” you faltered, unsure of what to call him. You had done your research, but you felt it might be intrusive to call him by his first name when he hadn’t personally given it. 

Seeing your hesitation, he gracefully interjected. “Ah, please pardon my rudeness! My name is The Magnificent Sans! I’m--”

“--the Mascot of the Monsters,” you finished, eyes wide, trying to appear like you only just recognized him. Explaining that you had kinda stalked him online was not really a road that you wanted to go down here and now. “I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you when you came in before! I should have-”

His eyes widened, and he seemed almost upset before his face quickly became more neutral. “No!” he almost shouted, before quickly lowering his volume. “Uh, I mean, please don’t worry about it. Sometimes it’s nice to not be recognized; then people don’t treat you any differently.” You could tell by the slight exhaustion that had crept into his face that he was being genuine, and you gave him a soft smile. You understood what he meant; it was a problem that many celebrities had to be going through, and you could appreciate that maybe the guy just wanted a break from the fame once in a while. Your mind flashed back to the pictures you had researched. No doubt about it; he was probably like you, someone who had been to plenty of formal events and was always uncomfortable when people singled you out for one reason or another.

“I completely understand, Mr. Magnificent Sans. Not to worry, I promise I won’t treat you any differently than any of my other nice customers.” At that, you went to ring him up, raising an eyebrow at how many lollipops he was buying. 

“Oh, um, human,” he said, so quietly you almost missed it. You turned to look at him, smiling, something in your chest feeling lighter than air. 

“Yes?”

“For you, just call me Sans. Please.”

You chuckled. “I can do that, Sans. Here’s your candy.”

He smiled back up at you in relief and gratitude, and in the most heartfelt voice you’d ever heard, said “Thank you.”

You couldn’t help but grin even wider, if that were possible. Something about this little skeleton really made you feel better about the world, and you were glad that the public face of monsterkind was such a sweetheart.

“You’re welcome.”

~~~~~

Sans' day had been nothing short of a disaster. Despite his wonderful morning enjoying his brother’s pie, everything had gone downhill after that. Apparently, someone had hit the mailbox, so he had to get that replaced, and after several minutes on the phone, managed to be transferred three times until he talked to someone who could actually help. Then there was terrible traffic on the way to work, a “human first” rally blocking a major thoroughfare, and to top it all off, he had forgotten his lunch, and had to shell out extra G for overpriced human food that hardly filled him up. He had decided then and there that he needed to go back to that candy shop, and after three photoshoots and one commemorative signing- along with one photo-op with the president of “Fungrammar”, a toy merchandising company who wanted to use his likeness to produce a plush toy for children- he was on his way to see you, rationalizing that a quick break between appointments was perfectly healthy.

As soon as he stepped in, he sensed the worry in your soul. Why were you nervous? Was is… was it directed at him? Immediately, he was wary. He posed dramatically in the doorway, hoping to alleviate some of your anxiety and find out what had happened. He went around the store, grabbing lots of lollipops as he went. 

He automatically felt better when you laughed at his pun, but it wasn’t until you tentatively asked his name that he understood. Ah! Did you think you had been rude by not asking before? None of the other human shopkeepers he had met seemed to feel that way, but you… well, you were quickly proving to be an unusual human indeed. He told you his name, but his heart sank a moment later as soon as you recognized who he was. Oh no. Now you would treat him like everyone else, put him on a pedestal and not see him--

Your words cut through his thoughts like a razor. You… meant it? You wouldn’t treat him any differently, even knowing who he was? No, he could feel it in your soul. You were being genuine. He stared at you as you rang up his purchases, and when he asked you to just call him by name… you were ok with that. From the look on your face, you even looked a little touched that he would do that.

He left the shop as happy as he’d been that morning, vowing to himself that he had to get to know you better. Tossing his purchase into the front seat, he drove back to work, feeling more refreshed then he had in a while.


End file.
